THE ETHICAL TRAVELER

 

 

 

Among new and increasing options for conscientious, feel-good-about-yourself luxury travel, is Beyond Green, a new brand umbrella recently launched by the Preferred Hotel Group. Opening with an impressive global collection of 27 member hotels, eco-resorts and lodges, they represent sustainability in action, and are curated for travelers seeking a more purposeful way to explore the world. We’re on board!

 

 

They are debuting at what might be considered the onset of a new era of travel, in which protecting mother nature, benefiting local communities, and celebrating cultural diversity has taken center stage, Beyond Green go beyond just banning single-use plastics, by offering guests a range of experiences in unique locations around the world including some sustainable vacations that kids will love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For instance, immersing guests in authentic nomadic culture, you can learn how to build a Yurt in The Gobi Desert (which let’s face it, could be useful at some point, and is certainly interesting), learn about Mongolian musical traditions or make goat milk yogurt with the locals. It’s all happening at Three Camel Lodge, South Gobi, Mongolia.

 

You can stay at the meticulously preserved 13th century Italian hamlet boutique hotel and spa, Borgo Pignano, in Tuscany, and learn Tuscan painting and local cooking, go horseback riding through the vineyards or experience spa treatments using organic local ingredients.

Beyond Green believes that “tourism should not conquer a place but enhance it instead.”

 

“Today’s travelers are craving connectedness and renewal, and with this comes a new and profound sense of responsibility for taking care of personal and planetary health and well-being,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Beyond Green, putting it all in a nutshell. 

 

A wide range of vacations and experiences are on offer, including closer-to-home the famed Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, to the Carneros Resort and Spa in Napa Valley or The Bentwood Inn, Jackson Hole. Further afield, there’s the spectacular Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, where you can go for the utmost in pampering or try the intriguingly labeled  “Polynesian outrigger experience”! Which could be anything. Please just do it and get back to us.

 

We’re happy to see that they’ve included The Brando Resort in Tetiaroa, and the gorgeous Arenas Del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort in Costa Rica, and the Aristi Mountain Resort in Greece, where you can — and should — go on a walking tour of the Monastery of Panagia Spileotissa.

 

They have a number of African wilderness safaris in Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania or you can take a sunset Dhow Cruise off Mnemba Island in Zanzibar. Seriously? A Dhow Cruise. Sorry, but that beats a river cruise up the Rhine hands down. 

 

Or learn falconry at Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland. There’s a trip for everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now, Beyond Green is encouraging travelers to seize the moment by taking advantage of a limited-time only Journeyer’s Pick Package, available at 15 participating properties for bookings made by Sept. 30, 2021, for travel anytime from now through Dec. 31, 2021. Featuring the best available rate, plus a local experience or meaningful memento — we take on faith it’s a meaningful one, although that can’t be the number one reason for going to one of these places…  

 

While generally encouraging us to travel well and with good intention, Beyond Green offers perks for being a member, earning points for free nights or room upgrades and late check out times if you participate in local community giving or an enrichment activity, varying obviously from property to property. But this could be attending an ecology tour in San Juan Capistrano, Ca, or a specialized lecture on the Gobi Desert at Three Camel Lodge in Mongolia. You get points for that! You were going anyway, right?

(Membership info is here) 

  

Globetrotters looking to travel in a way that is environmentally friendly, benefits local communities and supports cultural heritage can visit the Beyond Green website for resources, tools and to book sustainable luxury getaways from Belize to Bora Bora. The site features a highly visual presentation of each member property and the experiences they offer, along with stories about the world of sustainable travel.

 

 

Visit StayBeyondGreen.com